I need to protect them from mice in winter, they burrow under the snow and girdle the trees. I've been using the plastic spiral trunk protectors but have to take them off every spring for the reasons yomax gave... last winter I didn't get them put back on so had to go out and shovel the snow away from the trunks after every storm.
This fall I'm putting up 1/4" mesh hardware cloth so that I can leave it on all year.
This fall I'm putting up 1/4" mesh hardware cloth so that I can leave it on all year.